Vocab 10

Bodhisattva- a person who has attained prajna, or Enlightenment, but who postpones Nirvana in order to help others toattain Enlightenment: individual Bodhisattvas are the subjects of devotion in certain sects and are oftenrepresented in painting and sculpture.                               

Buddha- a person who has attained full prajna, or enlightenment                                           

Chaitya- derivative of citā  funeral pyre, akin to cinoti  (he) piles up                      

Darshan- a preacher or teacher of Aggadah or Halakhah in a synagogue.                                

Gopura- in South Indian architecture, the entrance gateway to the Hindu temple enclosure. Relatively small in theearlier period, the gopuras grew in size from the mid-12th century until the colossal gateways came todominate the temple complex, quite surpassing the main sanctum for architectural elaboration. Often aseries of gopuras are to be found at a shrine, each providing entry through a new enclosure wall. 

Mithuna- a Sanskrit term used in Tantra most often translated as sexual union in a ritual context                          

Mudra- any of a series of arm and hand positions expressing an attitude or action of thedeity.                                              

Nirvana    -  freedom from the endless cycle of personalreincarnations, with their consequent suffering, as a result of the extinction of individual passion,hatred, and delusion: attained by the Arhat as his goal but postponed by the Bodhisattva.                               

Puja- the worship of a particular god.                                     

Shiva- “the Destroyer,” the third member of the Trimurti, along with Brahma the Creator and Vishnu the Preserver.

Stupa-a monumental pile of earth or other material, in memory of Buddha or a Buddhist saint, and commemoratingsome event or marking a sacred spot.                                  

Torana- a gateway having two or three lintels between two posts.                                           

Urna- a spiral or circular dot placed on the forehead of Buddhist images as an auspicious mark. It symbolizes a third eye, which in turn symbolizes vision into the divine world; a sort of ability to see past our mundane universe of suffering.                                  

Ushnisha-  a three dimensional oval at the top of the head of the Buddha.                             

Wat- a Buddhist temple or monastery in Thailand or Cambodia.

Yakshi (Yaksha)- in the mythology of India, a class of generally benevolent nature spirits who are the custodians oftreasures that are hidden in the earth and in the roots of trees. Principal among the yakshas is Kubera(q.v.), who rules in the mythical Himalayan kingdom called Alaka.                               

Bi (Chinese Disk)-  Chinese jade carved in the form of a flat disk with a hole in the centre.   

Colophon- an inscription at the end of a book or manuscript, used especially in the 15th and 16th centuries,giving the title or subject of the work, its author, the name of the printer or publisher, and the dateand place of publication.                               

Confucianism- the system of ethics, education, and statesmanship taught by Confucius and his disciples, stressinglove for humanity, ancestor worship, reverence for parents, and harmony in thought and conduct.                               

Daoism- philosophical system developed by Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu advocating a simple honest life andnoninterference with the course of natural events

Literati- persons of scholarly or literary attainments; intellectuals.                                         

Pagoda-  a temple or sacred building, usually a pyramidlike tower and typicallyhaving upward-curving roofs over the individual stories.                                            

Porcelain- a strong, vitreous, translucent ceramic material, biscuit-fired at a low temperature, the glaze thenfired at a very high temperature.                        

Yin & Yang-  two principles, one negative, dark, and feminine (yin)  and onepositive, bright, and masculine (yang)  whose interaction influences the destinies of creatures and things                               

Donjon-  the heavily fortified central tower or keep of a medieval castle

Haboku-  a technique employed in suiboku (ink based), as seen in landscape paintings, involving an abstract simplification of forms and freedom of brushwork.                                             

Haniwa- any of the terra-cotta models of people, animals, and houses from the Yayoi period of Japanese culture.                                

Kondo-  a thief or armed robber                                             

Mandorla- a vesica piscis shaped aureola which surrounds the figures of Christ and the Virgin Mary in traditional Christian art.                          

Ukiyo-e- a genre style of painting and printmaking developed in Japan from the 17th to the 19th centuries andmarked by the depiction of the leisure activities of ordinary people.

Zen-  a Mahayana movement, introduced into China in the 6th century a.d. andinto Japan in the 12th century, that emphasizes enlightenment for the student by the most directpossible means, accepting formal studies and observances only when they form part of such means.                                               

Ashlar Masonry- Ashlar masonry is a type of construction that mostly uses rectangular blocks of stone. Also known as dressed stone               

Chacmool- the term used to refer to a particular form of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican sculpture depicting a reclining figure with its head facing 90 degrees from the front, supporting itself on its elbows and supporting a bowl or a disk upon its stomach                   

Coatlicue- the Aztec goddess who gave birth to the moon, stars, and Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war. 

Kiva- a large chamber, often wholly or partly underground, in a Pueblo Indian village, used for religiousceremonies and other purposes.

Coyolxauhqui- a daughter of Coatlicue and Mixcoatl and is the leader of the Centzon Huitznahuas, the southern star gods                   

Longhouse- a communal dwelling, especially of the iroquois and various other North American Indian peoples, consistingof a wooden, bark-covered framework often as much as 100 feet (30.5 meters) in length.                  

Pueblo- a communal structure for multiple dwelling and defensive purposes of certain agricultural Indians ofthe southwestern U.S.: built of adobe or stone, typically many-storied and terraced, the structureswere often placed against cliff walls, with entry through the roof by ladder.                                     

Totem-pole- A post carved and painted with a series of family or clan crests or with figures representing mythic beings and erected usually before a dwelling                            

Cire perdue-
a method of casting bronze, in which a mould is formed around a wax pattern, which is subsequentlymelted and drained away

 

Fetish (object containing magical powers)- an object regarded with awe as being the embodiment or habitation of a potent spirit or as havingmagical potency.            

Scarification- the result of scarifying; a scratch or scratches.                  

Moai-
any of the gigantic carved stone figures found on Easter Island (Rapa Nui)

                                               

Tapa (cloth)- Also called tapa cloth. a cloth of the Pacific islands made by pounding this or similar barks flat andthin, used for clothing and floor covering.